Kurdish conflict out of its borders : "the relationship between Kurds and Turks in Oslo from a conflict resolution perspective"

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Abstract

Kurdish Conflict Outside of Its Borders

There has been a thirteen-year-old, ongoing armed conflict in the southeastern part of Turkey between PKK and the security forces of Turkey. This conflict is defined by PKK as a war of freedom and independence and by the state in Turkey as an anti-terrorist struggle to preserve the security of the citizens in the region. The identity of the southeastern regions of Turkey is heavily charged with "meaning". It is a place for which and on which more than 20,000 people have been killed since 1984, more than 2,000 villages burned to the ground and more than 2 million people have been internally displaced (mostly from small villages to the teig cities in and outside the region).

The existing conflict in Turkey can not be regarded as the beginning of the confrontations concerning the Kurdish conflict. Kurdish problem in Turkey has been alive since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and according to some scholars, even since the late 1 9th century. Hence, the reasons of what is happening today can be traced back in the history of the region and in the history of Turkey. Nevertheless, no other Kurdish movement survived as long as the present one. Besides, until lately Kurdish movements had never saken an international nature, and had never been in the agenda of Western massemedia and public opinion. In that sense, my mein concern in this study will be the developments after 1984 which is the year when PKK began its activities, and especially influences of these developments outside the borders of Turkey.

One of the mein results of this conflict is the immigration which is not only going on within Turkey but also spreads out of the borders of Turkey, mainly towards Western European countries. Some of these refugees outside of Turkey organize themselves and continue working in what they believe in their new environment.

In some western European countries such as Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Sweden, some Kurdish and Turkish groups are hostile to each other. This development is regarded as "exportation of the conflict" to other countries. Some European countries are aware of the fact that the international nature of the Kurdish problem does not only affect their relations with Turkey but also that the domestic security of their own states is under threat.

One can observe that this conflict takes place within those countries in terms of agitation, target of hostility and violence, such as making demonstrations and fighting with the local police forces, burning shops or places which belong to the "other" side and attacking or occupying the Turkish Embassies.

European countries differ from each other. Particulary, Norway differs from other European countries in fots of senses. Neither the number of the Kurds and Turks are that teig nor the nature of situation includes that much violence when you make a simple comparison.

So, my question is;

"How is the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey reflected in the relationship between Kurds and Turks living in Norway'

The eim of the study is to stred light to the relationship between Kurds and Turks living in Norway and to analyse if the Kurdish conflict in Turkey reflects itself on Norway. As it is pointed out above, the internal security of some European countries is already under threat of the relationship between Kurds and Turks living in those countries. So far, this is not the situation in Norway but tinen, the question is; what is the situation in Norway? This study aims to direct the readers' attention whether we can point out the reflection of the Kurdish conflict in Norway, if yes, in what ways this reflection occurs. Even though, there will be no comparisions between European countries, my thesis can also give significant hints for understanding the situation in other countries.

To fulfill the tasks of my thesis, the analysis of the relationship between Kurds and Turks will be the starting point. I argue that if the reflection of the Kurdish conflict occurs in Norway, this should be seen in the relationship of Kurdish and Turkish population in Norway. Hence, the reflection of the Kurdish conflict can show itself in a conflictual relationship between Kurds and Turks in Norway that depends on the situation in Turkey. To understand the nature of this relationship, conflict reso/ution theories will be used.

The mein source of data will bestandardized elite interviews that I conducted in Oslo with 11 Kurdish and 11 Turkish respondants.